Bookstores. Can’t pass them up. Especially Independents. You may be the same way. I have always been that way. I have always been the kid who wandered into the bookstore at the mall (in the seventies bookstores in malls were a thing) and wandered out an hour and a half later.

There are several bookstores on Main Street in Durango, Colorado. The more mainstream one, (a loose description because of the eclectic nature of the communities in Durango), had books from the 1960s on debates between William F. Buckley and James Baldwin in the window. It had five different books written by James Baldwin near the front of the store on the eye-level shelf, the shelf where stores put items that they want most to sell.

I was impressed. Baldwin has begun to drift into obscurity, and I was glad that the bookstore owner wanted to promote his books.

Another of the bookstores I passed up twice. There was nothing but a sign on a glass door crammed between two other stores. The sign said it was open, but, when I opened the door, all I saw were stairs. The second time I opened the door, I was simply too lazy to climb the stairs.

Passing Bookstores: The Third Time

The third time, when my wife was otherwise busy and I was off the leash, I climbed the stairs. At the top, there was a little sign urging you on down the hall. At the end of that hall, there was another sign pointing down to the end of the next hall.

I thought I’d found something. Maybe old copies of the type of books I love. Or a copy of Dostoevsky or Proust. When I finally made it down the hall, I frightened the young girl working there. I must have been the first and only customer of the day.

She acted puzzled about my questions. “Where’s your classics?” I asked as I wandered from packed room to room. “Do you have any Russians?” She smiled, and I think giggled a little at me, but that’s okay. I’m glad to be entertainment. I didn’t find any classics or Russians.

And even though the little store was a disappointment, I’m still glad I made the effort to visit it. I took some beautiful pictures of cluttered book shelves that I can use as background for my podcast, Author Talk. Plus I got to be around all those books. And what if I had found a treasure? How good would that be?